Haryana cabinet expansion: Eight BJP leaders take oath as ministers

CHANDIGARH: Eight BJP leaders took oath as the ministers in the Haryana cabinet on Tuesday at a swearing-in ceremony in Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh.

Expressing her gratitude, newly sworn-in Minister Seema Trikha remarked, "I have got the opportunity. Every person in the Bharatiya Janata Party works as a worker. Our central leadership and our Haryana leadership sit together and take decisions and the workers fulfil the responsibilities assigned to them."

BJP leaders Kamal Gupta and Seema Trikhawith, Mahilpal Dhanda, Aseem Goel, Abhe Singh, Subhash Sudha, Bishamber Singh and Sanjay Singh took oath as the ministers in the Haryana cabinet.

Newly sworn minister in the Haryana cabinet, Dr Abhe Singh Yadav, reflecting on his new role, expressed optimism, stating, "I am feeling good (after taking oath as a minister). A lot of work has been done regarding water in Haryana and will continue to do so."

Similarly, Minister Mahipal Dhanda emphasized a commitment to accelerating developmental efforts.

"We will serve the people with honesty and full devotion. We will speed up our work. We will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats of Haryana and later we will form the government in the state with a clear majority," Mahipal Dhanda said.

Haryana Minister Subhash Sudha extended gratitude to various leaders for their guidance."I thank everyone for guiding us, former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, CM Nayab Singh Saini, PM Narendra Modi, national president JP Nadda, who showed faith in me. We will run the government honestly," Subhash Sudha said.

Aseem Goel, another newly sworn minister, praised the developmental strides made during the tenure of former CM Manohar Lal Khattar. "In the last 9.5 years, under the guidance of (former CM) Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana has touched new heights of development. The government will continue to move forward. He (Anil Vij) is my elder brother.

We will move forward with his guidance," said Aseem Goel. Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administers the oath to the office to all the newly sworn-in leaders, in Chandigarh. Earlier on March 12 Nayab Singh Saini was sworn in as the new chief minister of Haryana, replacing Manohar Lal Khattar. In addition to Saini, the BJP's JP Dalal, Moolchand Sharma, Banwari Lal, and Kanwar Pal Gurjar--all from the old cabinet--took oath as ministers.

On March 12 Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar resigned as the state Chief Minister hours after the BJP alliance with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) broke. The JJP led by Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala had 10 MLAs in the Haryana Assembly. Manohar Lal Khattar submitted his resignation letter to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya.

Manohar Lal Khattar was also present at the swearing-in ceremony of the current CM Nayab Singh Saini. In a significant gesture, Saini, seen as a confidante of Khattar, bent to touch his feet twice and was hugged in return. An influential figure within the OBC, or Other Backward Classes, community, Nayab Saini is the BJP's Lok Sabha MP from Kurukshetra and was appointed the party's state boss in October last year. He is also a close confidante of Khattar, whose second (consecutive) term ends this year.

The Kurukshetra MP Saini was appointed Haryana BJP state president in October last year. Saini won the Kurukshetra constituency in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by more than 3.83 lakh votes over his nearest challenger, Nirmal Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC).

Meanwhile today Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini kicked off the party's Lok Sabha campaign in the state and said that we have to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to power for the third time. The Haryana Chief Minister also offered prayers at Gurudwara Shri Nada Sahib, Panchkul.